NORTON, Mass. - MIT began to pull away
from the seven-team field through day two of the New England
Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Men's Swimming &
Diving Championship, as the Engineers were victorious in five of
the eight finals events on Saturday at Wheaton College's Balfour
Natatorium. MIT extended its lead on three-time defending champion
Coast Guard, with the Engineers tallying 687 points to the Bears'
542.5. Springfield College remained in third with 425 points.

MIT opened the second day of finals with its third relay victory
in as many attempts. The team of Jeff Zhou, Rastislav Racz, Laurent
Charpentier, and Luke Cummings swam
1:32.45 for the win in the 200 medley relay, although the Engineers
set NEWMAC championship and open records, and an Institute record
while securing an NCAA "A" cut during the morning with a time of
1:31.41.

Freshman Tim
Stumbaugh earned second-team All-Conference accolades after
finishing second overall in the 400 IM. Breaking a seven-year
school record, Stumbaugh secured NCAA "B" cuts with a time of
4:06.85. Freshman Jim Griffin finished
fourth for MIT in the race, while sophomore Eric Roselli closed in
fifth.

Zhou and rookie Brett Boval each
grabbed NCAA "B" cuts in the 100 fly, with Zhou earning second-team
All-Conference honors in 50.75, and Boval taking the bronze in
50.87. Freshman Matt
Chapa finished seventh, while Toomas Sepp and Deke Hu finished 1-2
in the consolation final as MIT collected big points in the event.

Charpentier authored MIT's first individual win of the evening
after taking the conference title in the 200 free. Charpentier
smashed his school record by nearly a full second while earning
NCAA "B" cuts in 1:40.69. Senior Peter Wellings
secured fourth place in the championship final (1:43.62) and
freshman Andrew
Pierson closed in sixth (1:43.68). Swimming out of the
consolation final, sophomore Michael Dobson split
a career-best 1:42.50.

Racz was absolutely stunning in his first-place effort during
the 100 breast, demolishing the existing Institute record and all
NEWMAC records with an NCAA "A" cut time of 54.99. The junior star
split 25.84 for the first 50 yards and hung on for a four-second
victory. Freshman David Parell delivered a career-best 58.98 to
finish fourth, while Hu finished fifth in 59.29.

Stumbaugh nabbed his first conference victory in the 100 back to
continue a stellar day in the water for the rookie and the
Engineers. Earning NCAA "B" cuts while posting the second-best
performance by an MIT swimmer in the event, Stumbaugh finished in a
time of 51.68. Ryan TerBush finished
fourth overall, while Boval claimed first place in the consolation
final.

MIT closed out the session with another record-breaking swim in
the 800 free relay. Besting the Institute and NEWMAC records by two
seconds, the team of Pierson, Wellings, Dobson, and Charpentier
completed the race in an NCAA "B" cut time of 6:50.96.